Because white papers are complex documents,
producing a quality paper requires careful planning. By going through the
process of producing a white paper plan, you avoid many of the pitfalls that
can highjack the process. Once the plan is approved, it ensures resources are
available and helps you keep the project on track.

In this week’s post in the series Marketing with White Papers: Four secrets
that guarantee white paper success, we explore the value of a plan, a white
paper plan, in Secret #2: The White Paper Plan.

Secret #2: The White Paper Plan

It all starts with a plan. So, you’ve
established you need a white paper and have found a professional white paper
writer. Now it’s time to develop your white paper plan.

The planning process begins in-house. Before
you bring the writer on board you need to sort out a few things internally:

the goal for the white paper;

your target audience;

internal human resources;

review team members

subject matter experts (SMEs)

information sources and
research direction; and

style guidelines, software etc.

You then get together with your writer and
ensure that the writer takes care of the following:

helping you decide which type
of white paper that will achieve the goal;

coming up with a couple working
titles and bylines;

developing high-level outline
of recommended content;

the desired call-to-action; and

a schedule for completion of
white paper.

Let’s look at each of these in more detail,
starting with the internal resources.

Required internal resources for the white paper plan

Internally, having a white paper plan in
place ensures that all members of the team understand the scope of the project
and their role in it. Get the team together to start the process.

Goal for the white paper

Goals

Setting a goal for your white paper is crucial for its success. This is something you want to agree on internally, although your writer should be able to help establish which goal you want to achieve.

Goals for a white paper can be to:

Generate interest and leads

Build thought leadership

Nurture leads through a long
sales funnel

Support product launches

Cast doubt on competitors, or
respond to their assertions

Keywords/phrases for SEO

Although white papers are not about the
hard sell, you still need to get it out there and search engines still rely on
keywords and phrases to rank search results. When the white paper plan lists
keywords and keyword phrase, your writer can then sprinkle them into the
content to optimize SEO.

Audience

Content marketers are well aware of the
importance of knowing their audience. You most likely have information about
your audience’s demographics, psychographics, and technographics. Or perhaps
you have a set of personas that you and the team have developed. That’s fantastic!

For the white paper, it is important to
understand where audience sits in sales funnel. If you are generating interest
and pulling in leads at the top of the funnel you will be addressing strategic
stakeholders. At the bottom of the
funnel, it will be technical stakeholders downloading and reading your paper.

Internal human resources

By stating the required internal resources
in the white paper plan, you allow time to be allocated to the project to
ensure success. An important relationship to establish and maintain is that
between you, the project manager, and the white paper writer. Keep this channel
open and success is far more likely.

Review team

Establish who will be on the review team. Include
people to review the technical aspects of the paper as well as people from the
sales and marketing teams. Ensure all
members are involved in the planning process so they understand the goals and
objectives of the paper.

Bringing new members of the review team in
late in the process will only complicate the process. Keep to the plan!

SMEs

SMEs, Subject Matter Experts, are another
key resource to put into the plan. SMEs
will assist the writer in understanding the science behind your solution. By
understanding the science and technology behind your product, your writer can
better describe the benefits of your solution.

Information sources and research direction

Your writer will need both information from
your company but also other likely sources of information for further research.

In-house style guidelines and software

The white paper plan should reference any
in-house style guidelines for design, formatting, and language. Include details
of the preferred software for writing, page design, etc.

The writer’s commitments to the white paper plan

Of course, the writer is responsible for
drawing up the actual plan. As with your internal tasks, there are tasks for
the writer as well. After initial internal discussions, organize a time to talk
with your writer about what your goals are for the white paper.

Type and structure

By understanding the goals of the white paper and your audience, your writer will help you choose the right white paper at the right time. The plan must clearly state the type of white paper to be produced.

Picking the right title for a white paper is very important. The title needs to attract prospects, get them interested. The best title may not become obvious until the white paper is done but having working titles in the white paper plan gives the process direction.

What you want from your writer at the planning stage are some working titles and accompanying bylines. Look for titles that attract interest, are specific, and are brief.

High-level outline
of recommended content

After
discussions with you and perusal of the information you supply, your writer
will develop a high-level outline of recommended content. The outline should be
circulated to the review team, with review timelines strictly adhered to. After
the writer incorporates review panel changes, the outline goes into the
plan. The outline forms to basic structure
of the paper as well as being a reference during the review process.

Call-to-action

Make sure you know what you want your readers to do next. Do you want them to call you? To fill out a contact form? Watch a demo? Whatever it is, spell it out and make taking action easy. Add a button and a link.

Schedule for
completion of white paper

The white paper plan must specify important
milestones. Critical dates to chronicle are:

The white paper plan

The high-level outline of
recommended content

The first draft submitted for
review and approval

Timing of revisions requested
following 1st and 2nd review

Final layout and illustration

The success of a white paper can hinge on keeping
to the schedule. Allowing extended review times will impact the project
negatively.

Marketing and promotion

Promoting your white paper is critical to
its success. As content marketing
tactics go, white papers are a sizable investment. You want to make sure it does its job. That means promotion. Again, by stating your
promotion strategy in the white paper plan, you guarantee buy-in with your
sales and marketing teams.

You need to establish what additional
content you need for the launch. You will need:

a landing page,

press releases,

blog posts

tweets and

email autoresponders.

Your writer may offer a package price for
the white paper and associated marketing materials.

How you use these assets to promote the
white paper is the subject of the final post in this series, in two weeks’
time.

Conclusion

A white paper plan improves the chances that your white paper will be a success. By establishing the goals, intended audience, and keyword phrases, you can pick the best type of white paper to achieve your goal. A good plan establishes required internal resources, including the review team, SMEs, and information sources. Working titles, a high-level outline, and the call-to-action all help provide direction throughout the project. The schedule in the plan will ensure timelines are specified and met.

With a white paper plan success is ensured.

In next week’s post we’ll find out in Secret #3: How to write a white paper, you’ll get some insight into
what your writer is up to when she goes off to write your white paper.

Are
you looking for a white paper writer for your next product launch? Why not hire
an expert?

A
persuasive white paper, special report, or e-book uses simple language to
explain complex solutions. I understand
the science and technology behind your product, your services. I can translate that complexity into
easy-to-read content for a lay audience.

Introduction

How successful was your last white paper?
Did it accomplish its goal? Not all white papers do. There are a host of pitfalls in the process
of producing a white paper.

This series of posts, Marketing with White Papers: Four secrets that guarantee white paper
success, presents four secrets that guarantee white paper success. Secrets that
can help ensure your next white paper is a resounding success. Secret #1 is
about picking the right kind of white paper at the right time.

Secret #1: The Right White Paper at the Right Time

There is a misconception in B2B marketing
that white papers are only appropriate at a certain point in the water industry
sales funnel. Usually it is assigned to
the middle of the funnel to generate leads. That way of thinking is really missing
the true power of white papers. White papers, when the right kind is chosen,
draw your prospects through your sales funnel and beyond.

So, what kind of white paper? When?

By understanding the sales funnel and how
decisions are made when the problem is complex and the solution expensive, the
right type of white paper can be chosen for each point in the buyer’s journey.

B2B customers need time and information to
make decisions. And decisions in the
water industry are about complex problems that require expensive solutions.

At the top of the sales funnel, the object
is to get the attention of potential customers.
Build awareness. Generate leads.

At this point in the funnel, a problem/solution
white paper can help generate leads.
In this type of paper, you first define the problem your prospects
are trying to solve. You provide quality
information about the solutions already in the marketplace. You then introduce the new type of solution
your company provides.

The idea is to provide information upon
which a buyer can base a business case – never use the hard sales pitch at the
top of the funnel. Never mention
specific products in a problem/solution white paper.

The middle of the sales funnel can be
excruciatingly long. You need to be able
to maintain interest without exerting pressure.
Do it by providing controversial, educational, and possibly even
entertaining information in a numbered list format.

A numbered list white paper might be a
set of tips, points, questions, or answers about an issue. They tend to provide quick summaries in an
easy to read format.

People love numbered lists because:

They are easy to scan.

You always know where you are.

They are an easy read.

The structure is clear.

You’ve been reading them for
years.

Numbered list white papers are relatively
quick to produce since they tend to present highlights rather than deep
analysis. The points presented can
almost be random with the numbering system holding them together.

A numbered list is especially powerful:

To get attention with
provocative views

To help prospects along that
are already in the funnel

To cast doubt on your
competitors.

A numbered list keeps the information
flowing into the middle of the sales funnel.
At its best, a numbered list white paper encourages discussion by
introducing sometimes controversial ideas about the problem or about solutions
currently available.

At the bottom of the funnel you want to pull
in the sale. A technical backgrounder
white paper provides detailed technical information about the features and
benefits of yourproduct, process, or service.

A backgrounder has a tight focus on one
offering from one vendor. This type of
white paper is also referred to as an evaluator’s
guide or a product briefing. It tends to do one of the following:

Explains key features,
functions and benefits in more detail than a brochure or data sheet.

Explains new, unfamiliar or
misunderstood technology to a technical audience.

Supports a product launch by
explaining the product in technically detailed terms.

A backgrounder-style white paper is
powerful in the late stages of a buying decision. It can help the buyer or
buying committee make a final decision. The
white paper needs to provide specific details of how the features of your
product, process, or service will benefit the buyer. And how those features will solve their problem.

At this point features are as important as
benefits, sometimes even more important.
The buyer needs to know that your product/process/service will solve
their problem.

After the sale, your content can help build
stronger customer relationships. Relationships that can lead to future sales. After publishing an effective white paper,
the content can and should be used to feed other channels.

To establish thought leadership, you must
provide new and engaging content continually.
Search engines like Google assess content as well as keywords. Because white papers are expensive, re-purposing
their content makes good business sense.

Each section of a numbered list could
become a post on your blog. They could each
be re-reworked into an article in your newsletter. Both the blog post and the
article should contain a link to the full white paper on your website.

A problem/solution white paper could be
presented at a conference with a PowerPoint slide show. Several white papers could be tied together
and published as an e-book.

Conclusion

White papers can engage and educate your prospects all the way
through the sales funnel. They make an excellent call to action in a strategic content marketing campaign. Prospects who download the white paper are
expressing an interest in the solutions offered. Be sure to collect information when they
do. Then follow up. Follow up. Follow
up.

In next week’s post we’ll find out in Secret #2: the white paper plan, how important it is to plan your white paper. A white paper plan dramatically increases the chances of your white paper being a success.

Are
you looking for a white paper writer for your next product launch? Why not hire
an expert?

A
persuasive white paper, special report, or e-book uses simple language to
explain complex solutions. I understand
the science and technology behind your product, your services. I can translate that complexity into
easy-to-read content for a lay audience.